'Rumors of rift sparked as players react emotionally to Pakistan's Asia Cup loss to India'

Pakistan cricket, which once boasted dominant white-ball teams with players excelling in both formats and ruling the ICC ranking charts, is currently in a state of turmoil. Imam, in an interview with Cricwick, pinpointed the 2023 Asia Cup match against India in Sri Lanka as the event that sparked this decline.

Pakistan did dominate the proceedings in the group-stage encounter before rain washed out the match. They faced each other again in the Super Four stage, where the Rohit Sharma-led side, the eventual champions scripted a 228-run win to make the final.

Imam said the Pakistan players were confident of their preparations for the ODI World Cup, which he personally reckoned would be a career-changing tournament for him. But the Babar Azam-led side faced a harsh reality check in the Asia Cup.

“I heard these rumours every time Pakistan lost a game. But the truth is we didn't play good cricket in the two World Cups. I was hurt personally, and I think people were expecting a lot from us in the ODI World Cup. We were the No. 1 team just three years back. Our top three batters were ranked in the top 5 of the ICC Test Rankings. But then when you don't play well...because we were targeting the India World Cup for a long time. I thought it could have been a life-changing tournament. But suddenly, all changed from that India game in the Asia Cup, and that loss lowered our confidence,” he said.

Although not naming his teammates, the senior batter recalled that he saw a lot of players were in tears after the loss against India and few had locked themselves up in their hote rooms. Imam added the shattered confidence after that India game sparked a major downfall which saw Pakistan failing to make the semis in the ODI World Cup, and suffering a group-stage exit in the 2024 T20 World Cup, where they had lost to the USA.

“A lot of boys were disheartened from there. I heard a lot of them crying during the World Cup; some had stopped smiling and locked themselves up in their hotel rooms. There was also this setback of losing against Afghanistan. So from being the No. 1 team...nothing went like we expected in India. The T20 World Cup came later on, but I think the India World Cup shook our confidence completely. That's when the rumours began again,” he added.